


the one where lance is appreciated

by malacihte



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Comfort, Gen, after whatever s7 was I had to post it, and being told to shut up constantly, bc I’m tired of him being viewed as the ‘dumb’ one, by his family and friends, if ur looking for ships this is not the fic for u, ive had this in my draft for a year, so if ur looking for lance being loved and appreciated, then you’ve been come to the right place, this fic is just about lance being appreciated
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-16
Updated: 2018-08-16
Packaged: 2019-06-28 03:36:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,098
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15699357
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/malacihte/pseuds/malacihte
Summary: short snippets of lance’s life where those that are closest to him realize how much he’s given to them, as a teammate, a friend and as family.DISCLAIMER: i initially wrote this back in 2017 to be published as a birthday fic for lance but never had the chance to finish it. the first four chapters here will be set then (before season 3 was released).





	1. lance & vanessa

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! So I haven’t posted Voltron content in like a year or something because I’ve been out of the fandom due to the negativity and whatnot! But I just recently finished season 7 and needless to say it was not my favourite season :) obviously as a klance shipper I was a lil disappointed but also as a die hard lance stan—yeah a bitch is fucking mad. 
> 
> So! I’ve decided to publish these little one shots of lance with his family and with team Voltron where each character will have a POV and reflect on how much lance has done for him and how important he is to the team! Because it’s what he deserves xoxo 
> 
> Oh and like I said in the summary the first 4 or 5 chapters will be outdated cause I wrote them a year ago so for example in the first chapter Lance’s sister’s name is Vanessa not Veronica because that’s what I had headcanonned her name to be and his brothers name surprisingly is Louis since apparently I guessed it right (but with the wrong spelling) I’m just too lazy to change it lol. Hope u enjoy and sorry for the long note!

Vanessa had been hoping for a younger sister. She already had one brother and one was enough for her. She wanted someone to play soccer with and tell stories to and create fantasy worlds in their room with. She'd had a whole list of things she wanted to to teach her younger sister, ways to annoy Louis and the best time to wish on stars. It was all set out ever since her mum had told her and Louis that they'd have a new sibling soon. Vanessa had been ecstatic, she'd immediately separated out some of her favourite toys to give to the new baby. 

Except now it looked like it all was for nothing because her mum was coming home today with a little brother.

A couple nights ago Louis had woken her up in the middle of the night, she'd reached blindly for her lamp. Clicking it on, the entire room lit up and revealed the biggest smile on Louis' face. Vanessa hadn't needed him to tell her what had happened. She'd jumped out of bed and shoved her feet into her slippers. "Mama had the baby?" she'd asked Louis. 

He'd nodded then grabbed her hand, they'd ran out of her room, down the hall and stomped down the stairs. Each step had sounded like an earthquake but Vanessa had been too excited to care. "Aunt Rosa is calling papa right now then they'll tell us if the baby is a boy or a girl and their name," Louis told her. 

They'd reached their family room, a blind was drawn open and Vanessa had been able to see out into their backyard. Stars flickering up in the sky and the summer heat drifting in the air. The lights had been on in the room, illuminating the area. The coffee table held a vase of red carnations that her father had gotten her mother a couple days before, a few petals had fallen onto the surface of the stack of books beside it. The television was turned off and a few of their video game cases were out on the floor by it. There were frames hanging on the walls holding pictures of her family and Vanessa had been thinking about how soon there'd be even more when the new baby come home. Everything had felt so still and soft while Vanessa had been practically electric with excitement, she'd thought that if she touched anything it would've jumped to life with her shocks. 

Her aunt had been sitting on the couch, swearing her pyjamas and a fuzzy old bathrobe on top. Her hair had been put up in a messy ponytail and she'd been holding the phone to her ear. Her uncle hovering beside her, holding out a mug to her which she'd taken. Uncle Ben had turned slightly and his eyes finally caught onto Vanessa and Louis. There'd been  no surprise in his face instead he'd just raised an eyebrow at them. 

"Louis I told you to go back to sleep not to wake Vanessa," he'd said. Although his words seemed accusatory there'd been a small smile on his face, making him look more amused than anything. Then Aunt Rosa had started talking on the phone and the excitement in Vanessa had grown ten fold. She'd wanted to grab the phone and hound her dad with questions. 

"I know," Louis had shrugged. "But we wanted to know about the baby." He'd offered their uncle the most innocent smile. Vanessa had internally applauded him, it was one of his best yet. 

Their uncle had went on to tell Louis something else but Vanessa had focused in on her aunt's conversation instead. She'd removed her hand from Louis' and sat beside her aunt on their couch. Aunt Rosa hadn't been saying anything at first and Vanessa had strained to hear the faint voice coming from the receiver end of the phone. She clutched onto the blue fabric of the couch and leaned closer to her aunt. She had heard her dad's voice but hadn't been able to make out what he was saying.

"Yes they're awake, do you want to talk to them?" Aunt Rosa had said. Vanessa had looked up at her aunt who'd smiled warmly at her—she must be talking about us. Aunt Rosa had put an arm around her and Vanessa had curled into it. Their aunt and uncle had come that morning to look after her and Louis as their parents had left for the hospital in the afternoon. Vanessa had initially been disappointed that she couldn't go with her parents but her aunt and uncle had taken her and Louis to the park and then out for ice cream. The disappointment had quickly vanished. They'd come home for dinner and Aunt Rosa had told Vanessa stories about when she and Vanessa's mum had been younger. Needless to say the stories had made Vanessa even more excited for a sister. 

"Okay I'm putting it on speaker," she'd said. Aunt Rosa had removed the phone from her ear and pressed a button, tilting the phone towards Vanessa. 

Vanessa had shot up quickly, "Papa!" 

Louis had been beside her in an instant, squishing in close. Vanessa, too happy to even push him away. "Hello Vanessa, is Louis there?" her father had asked. Vanessa could hear the smile in her father's voice. 

"Yes!" Louis had shouted. He'd leaned across Vanessa to get closer to the phone. "How's the baby? How's mama? What's their name? Is it a boy or a girl? What do they look like?" Louis asked all in one breath. 

Vanessa had pushed at his face, "Shut up Louis, I wanna ask too!" Louis had stuck his tongue out at her but had Vanessa ignored it turning back to the phone. "Can we come to the hospital now papa? I wanna see the baby." 

Her father had laughed lightly before answering. "You can't come yet. You two should be sleeping anyways but don't worry you'll be able to come soon. Okay?" 

"Okay," Vanessa sighed. She had really wanted to go see the baby but it's not like she could've drove there—or could she? She had been been thinking about just how hard it would be to drive a car when her father had started talking again. 

"And Louis the baby and your mother are fine. They both just need some rest," he'd said. "Now here's the big news! You two have a little brother and his name is Lance." 

"Brother?" Vanessa had exclaimed at the same time Louis had yelled out a yes! 

Now Lance was coming home. Aunt Rosa and Uncle Ben had decked out the family room in blue balloon and streamers. Which Vanessa thought was pointless because the baby could've liked pink or red or green better but no one had listened to her when she'd brought it up. They'd also hung up a huge Congratulations banner and bought a cake that was out on the coffee table. It was taking all of Vanessa's control not to steal a taste of the icing. Louis had brought down a bunch of his race cars and rocket ships and placed them on top of the shelves and the mantle above the fireplace. Vanessa even though, still a little bummed that she hadn't gotten a sister was excited for Lance to come home too. She'd drawn a bunch of pictures of her mother and of Lance and of Lance and her and Louis all together and laid them out on the coffee table by the cake.

Vanessa was waiting by the window. Her face pressed up to the glass and Louis mirroring the same position beside her. They were watching for their parents to pull into the driveway. Every time a car passed Vanessa's heartbeat picked up only to get frustrated when she realized it wasn't their car. What must've been the hundredth car drove away and Louis let out a loud groan, pulling away from the window. "I can't take it anymore!" he complained. "It's taking them so long!" 

Vanessa reluctantly turned away from the window to look at her older brother who was laying on the floor. "Be patient Louis," she advised even though she was growing impatient as well.

Louis sat back up and frowned at her, "I'm the older one. I'm supposed to be reassuring you." 

"Yeah but you're dumb."

"Hey!" Louis scowled. Vanessa started giggling but it was short lived as Louis poked her sides. 

"Ow!" she glared at him and then pushed him back to the floor. They were about to start full on fighting when Aunt Rosa walked in. 

"What are you two—" she started but quickly paused, looking away. Vanessa followed her gaze to the window. "They're here!" 

Vanessa abandoned her argument with Louis and ran to the doors, she unlocked it and threw it open. Her father was sliding open the car door and then he was taking out the baby car seat Vanessa had helped to choose. Vanessa was about to run out but Aunt Rosa was holding her arm. "They're coming in Vanessa give them a minute," she said. 

Her mother came out next and immediately looked up to Vanessa and smiled and waved at her. She looked tired but also glowing in the summer sun. It was the end of July and the hydrangeas in their front yard were blooming, Vanessa swore she saw the flowers turn towards Lance as her mother and father walked up to the house with him. She could hear the flowers whispering. 

"Give them some space," Aunt Rosa said. They moved away from the door a bit. Louis and Uncle Ben had settled close to them. It felt like slow motion as her mother and father walked into the house and closed the door behind them. Then the whole world sprung back into normal speed and everything happened all at once as Aunt Rosa hugged her mother and Louis bolted to the baby car seat to peer at Lance. Everyone was smiling and laughing and the house was exploding with noise and happiness. Vanessa felt it in her blood and in the floorboards beneath her. She quickly moved towards her dad and beside Louis where he was hovering by the car seat. 

Vanessa looked in to see Lance. He was small, Vanessa knew he'd be small but now that was he was in front of her it was all so real. He had the tiniest hands and tufts of fluffy dark brown hair that was curling on his forehead. He was wearing a blue onesie and there was a gold chain around his neck. His eyes were closed, Vanessa thought he was sleeping until they slowly flickered open to look at her. In the background Vanessa can hear Louis' awwww, but it's distant in her ears as she looked into her little brother's dark blue eyes that matched her own. 

Vanessa carefully took Lance's hand in hers, it was minuscule in comparison. His skin was soft and he was all squishy and chubby, Vanessa looked back at his face to see him smiling. Toothless and wide, it took her a moment to understand that he was giggling at her. She melted. 

She had wanted a little sister, yes. But now she realized that it didn't matter. She was going to teach Lance everything anyways, sister or not. They'd play soccer and she'd tell him all her favourite stories and they'd create fantasy worlds in her room. She'd teach him about the best ways to annoy Louis and how to swim and when the perfect time to wish on stars were. 

She'd pull down the moon for him.


	2. lance & allura

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> lol again I wrote this before season 3 even came out and allurance became a thing. I had thought that Allura and lances development was going to become a strong friendship that could be coded as almost sibling like hennyways I was wrong ab that lmao but I still like this chapter I wrote and even though I think allurance is a good ship !! And I support it 100% I just have some problems w how it was written in and feel that the outcome of them being strong friends and comrades would’ve made more sense ! i could explain this in a whole essay lol

There was a knock at Allura's door. She could almost hear the slight hesitation in it. The person had only knocked twice, very softly. Nonetheless the sound had managed to pull Allura out of her thoughts and bring her attention to the door. 

At first she thought it was Coran, he was always checking up on her. Always wanting to know if she was alright or if she needed something. Or to remind her that she needed to eat or rest. She liked having Coran there for her, watching over. What with training the paladins and saving the universe things like food and sleep tended to slip her mind. Most of the time it was just nice to know Coran was still there, he was all she had left of her old life and she knew that they both took comfort knowing the other was safe. 

Allura quickly walked over to the door to let Coran in when she realized that Coran had said he was helping Pidge with her Altean. Coran couldn't be the one knocking. It had to be one of the paladins. Allura smoothed out her nightgown and let the doors slide open prepared to see Shiro who might want to talk about how the other paladins were improving or possibly Hunk who wanted to gossip. She defiantly hadn't been prepared to see a sheepish Lance in his baseball tee and jeans. There was a nervous look in his eyes as he offered Allura a small smile. 

"Lance, is everything okay?" Allura asked. She wasn't sure what to make of Lance, he'd never come to her this late before. Most of their conversations had been limited to topics of training, missions, defeating the Galra and his one sided flirting. 

"Everything's fine," Lance said. He scratched the back of his neck and looked down away from Allura. She was sure she'd never seen Lance this shy before. Lance had been confident from the very beginning, when Allura had first fallen into his arms he hadn't even wasted a second to shoot her a grin and let a pickup line slip through his lips. Lance had the power to fill up an entire room, he'd always seemed self assured. Sometimes his confidence edged on cockiness and it got on Allura's nerves but she also had to admire it. Lance could collect himself easily and talk his way carefully through problems, two important traits for a paladin to have. 

"I just," Lance continued, "wanted to ask you if I could come in?"

Allura crossed her arms. She didn't fully understand Lance's request, why would he want to come in? "If this is some attempt to flirt with me or to ask me to date you I don't—" 

"No!" Lance interrupted quickly. He finally met Allura's eyes again, less nervous now but more desperate. Allura was a little taken aback by it. "I didn't meant it like that. I should've explained better. I wanted to come in to uh, well it sounds kind of stupid now but I wanted to know if I could braid you hair?" Lance held out a hair tie and a brush in his hands. He chewed on his lip, waiting for Allura's response.

Allura took a moment to process the explanation. Her hand unconsciously went to her hair, she wouldn't mind having it braided. "I guess that would be alright," she answered. Stepping aside she let Lance walk in. The doors slid shut behind him. 

"Woah, your room's big," Lance said. His eyes scanned across the space then turned back to her. "I mean it makes sense because you're the princess—wait I don't mean that in a bitter way. It's just an observation. My room's great too." 

Allura couldn't help but laugh, this was a whole new side of Lance she hadn't really seen before. "I'm glad you like your room, now are you going to just stand there or are you going to braid my hair?" 

"Oh right!" Lance stepped up to Allura's bed. "Uh just sit here and I can start." 

Alluea obeyed and she climbed into her bed and sat down on the blankets. The mice who had been laying there scurried up into her lap. A second later she felt Lance sink into the bed behind her and then the brush being combed through her hair. It was calming, as Lance continued to brush and neither of them spoke. The silence wasn't uncomfortable more assuring than anything. Allura hadn't experienced this kind of relaxation in awhile, it almost felt dreamlike. With the dull blue glow coming from the lights in her room and the warmth from her bed. Lance stopped brushing and had moved onto the braiding, his fingers pulling and crossing strands of her hair softly. 

"Lance," Allura broke the silence. 

"Yeah."

"Why did you want to braid my hair?" she asked. Allura wasn't complaining but she was curious. 

"No reason, just felt like it," Lance replied. Allura felt like there was more but she decided not to question further as they lapped back into quiet. A minutes must've passed when Lance breathed out a low sigh. "My older sister taught me how to do a fishtail braid. Sometimes when we were younger she'd make me do her hair before school and I was thinking about that today so I just thought you know," he laughed lightly,"none of the others have hair long enough to braid." 

"You miss your family," Allura said. She looked down at her lap, focusing on the pink colour of her nightgown and the mice that had dozed off again. Allura had never expected to be able to relate to Lance out of all the paladins but the universe has a way of surprising her. She missed her father and she missed her mother and she missed all the friends she had lost. She missed how it used to be when Altea has still been Altea and everything had been bursting with so much life and so much love. When nothing had been burning.  Not a day went by without her thinking about her family. Everything she did she did for them.

"I miss mine too," she whispered. 

Allura felt Lance stop braiding for a moment before he begun again. "I guess we have more in common than we think," he said. Lance went quiet again then added, "Allura I know I flirt with you a lot but—" 

"A lot might be an understatement," Allura pointed out. Though she'd meant it lightheartedly. 

"Yeah, well I just wanted to say I'm sorry," Lance said. Allura almost had to strain to hear it because of how softly he was speaking. Lance had completely stopped braiding now and Allura felt the mood in the room shift. She gathered the mice from her lap and placed them back on the bed, swiftly she turned around to face Lance. His hands were twisting in his lap and he was looking at everything but her. 

"I know you don't like it so I'm gonna stop doing it," he went on. "I think I was just using the flirting as this stupid way to cope with all of this, it was a distraction. It obviously wasn't a good way to cope." 

Lance finally looked back up, there was a small smile on his face. There was something almost sad about it, Allura opened her mouth to say something but Lance started speaking again. "If I'm being honest you remind me of my older sister," he confessed.

Allura had to smile at that, she took one of Lance's hands in hers. He stared at her, eyes filled with uncertainty. "You see me as family?" 

Lance nodded and Allura squeezed his hand. "You're forgiven Lance. I'm glad you came to me," she said. "I never had a younger brother but I promise you I'll try to be a good older sister." 

Lance started laughing and Allura was confused for a moment before she couldn't stop herself from laughing with him. The little bit of tension that had built up in the room fell away. 

"Let's start with me finishing up with your fishtail braid," Lance smiled. There was nothing flirtatious about it anymore, it wasn't a smirk or a grin, it was genuine. Allura nodded and turned back around to let Lance get back to it.

The blue lion held the team together, that's what her father had told her when he'd taught her about the characteristics of each lion. The paladins of the blue lion were flexible and outgoing and loving. They always knew what needed to be provided at a time of need, they knew exactly what their teammates needed and how to help others. Lance had somehow known the exact words Allura had needed without knowing at the same time. Allura understood now why the blue lion had chose him, he was the heart of Voltron.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pidge is up next!


	3. lance & pidge

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> again wrote this before s3 so there’s probably some outdated info in here whoops

It was getting late. Time worked differently in space and really was there even a day and night when you were flying through galaxies? Pidge had always known time was a concept and that it didn't actually exist but being up in outer space had really made the fact dawn on her ten times more. What she did know was a 100% real was how tired she was. Her sleeping schedule had never been worst, she wasn't sure how long she'd been awake for. 

Sprawled out on one of couches on the lounge she could feel her eyes begin to droop. Her bedroom was starting to call out for her and her tiredness was beginning to get the best of her. Except as much as she wanted to sleep, she had more important things to do. Sitting back up Pidge pinched the inside of her wrist trying to bring herself back to a more alert state. During one of their recent missions Hunk had managed to grab some sort of memory stick from a Galra officer, Pidge had been trying to get into it for the past couple of hours. The security system was pretty heavy on it, she knew she could get through it though—she was almost there. Sacrificing a little more of her sleeping time wouldn't hurt. 

She went back to typing, eyes glued to her laptop screen. Every time she blinked she could see the words from her screen fastened to the back of her eyelids. Everything was blurring together in her head when she heard the lounge doors slide open. It was loud enough for her to be pulled out of her hacking trance, she could've sworn that everyone had gone to bed. Pidge turned away from her laptop to see Lance in his pyjamas and slippers. His hair was messy like he'd just rolled out of bed, which was probably the case. There was a blanket slung over his shoulder and a pillow under one of his arms. In his other hand he was holding a juice box. 

"I knew you were still awake," Lance yawned, "Shiro told you to go to bed." 

Pidge turned back to her laptop, frowning. "Shiro doesn't own me."

"Maybe," Lance replied, "but he has your best interests at heart and he's right when he says you need rest." Pidge could heat him shuffling into the room. 

"Are you here to force me to go to sleep?" Pidge asked. She wasn't in the mood for a lecture. 

"Nah," Lance said. He'd reached Pidge and he dropped the juice box onto her stomach. "I'm just here to make sure you're okay. Drink the space juice you're probably thirsty."

Pidge took the juice box in her hands. "Oh, yeah I guess so—" She was interrupted by a blanket being draped over her then her head was being pushed forward and dropped back again onto a pillow. 

"There now you're all comfy," Lance announced. He plopped down onto the ground in front of Pidge. 

"Thanks Lance," she said. She adjusted the blanket and pulled her laptop out from under it. This wasn't the first time Lance had found her up late and decided to take it upon himself to take care of her. Pidge, though she didn't show it much, was grateful for it. 

"No problemo Pidgey," Lance reached over and ruffled her hair. Pidge pushed his hand away but he only laughed. "You still working on the memory stick thing?" Lance asked. 

"Yeah, I'm almost done," Pidge said, "I didn't expect all these defences but the Galra programmers are so clever. They're our enemies but you gotta hand it to them. Is it bad that I'm kinda enjoying all the challenges? It fun hacking into it and if they put this much effort into hiding what was on this it must be important." Before Pidge could stop herself she had fallen into a full explanation of what she was doing. At times she'd expected that Lance might've dozed off or wasn't paying attention but every time he was nodding along and listening. Pidge wondered if he understood it all, even if he didn't he was doing his best to act like he did—even asking questions in between. Pidge appreciated it.

Her explanation faded to an end and Lance was still watching intently. His knees were pulled up to his chest and his chin was resting on top. "That's awesome Pidge, what you do is amazing," he grinned. 

Pidge was about to make some joke when she noticed Lance rubbing his eyes. He must've been so tired and yet he was still up. "Why do you always do this?" Pidge blurted.

"Do what?" Lance asked, his eyebrows furrowed. 

"You know, stay up with me and listen to me go on and on about stuff you probably don't care about," Pidge explained. She didn't understand why Lance would give up his time like that. Lance stared at her for a moment in silence as if he was figuring out his best best answer. Pidge chewed on this inside of her cheek waiting. 

"First," he started, "I stay up with you because I don't want you to be alone. The castle is freaky when no ones with you." 

Pidge frowned, "But I'm fine. I don't get scared." 

"I guess but I just feel better knowing you're okay. So that's why I always come check up on you," Lance admitted. He sighed, "And I do care about the things you talk about. I don't always understand them but I care about you so by default I care about them."

"Oh," Pidge said. She pushed her laptop aside and turned her body completely to face Lance who was peering up at her from the ground. Her blanket spilled off the couch and she grabbed the pillow to hug to her chest. "You're serious?" 

Lance smiled, "Jesus Pidge, of course I'm serious." He punch her shoulder, lightly. "Back at the Garrison, I know we were friends but you always did your own thing. I understand what that was now but at that point I didn't know so I tried really hard to make you feel apart of the group—and I guess old habits die hard because I'm still doing it." 

"That's—wow," Pidge wasn't sure how to respond. "I didn't know that." 

Lance laughed softly, "Remember that time when we changed all the desktop background on all the Garrison computers to different pictures of Nicholas Cage?" 

Pidge did remember and now all she could think of was the dumb things they'd done back at the Garrison. "Mmhm, do you remember that time we hacked into the announcement system and played Cotton Eye Joe for the entire day on repeat and no one could figure out how to turn it off?" 

"'Course, how about the time we staged a huge argument in the cafeteria just to start a gigantic food fight?"

"How could I forget I got drenched in tomato sauce!" Pidge cringed at the memory. "What about when you got so upset that I kept beating you at Mario Karts that you wouldn't speak to me for a week and made Hunk your messenger whenever you needed to tell me something." 

"My measures were completely valid, I still think you cheated somehow," Lance accused, though he was laughing. Pidge had started laughing too as they switched more of their old memories back and forth. The Garrison seemed so far away now, all the things they were talking about had probably happened only a couple months ago but it seemed like years. 

The laughter died down and Lance was shaking his head. "Remember that time we found a giant robot lion and we flew through a wormhole together to space where we learned about Voltron and now we're stuck in a war against a furry alien race and somehow we're the universe's only hope?" 

"Nope, you sure you're not talking about one of your crazy dreams Lance?" Pidge teased. 

"Very funny," Lance rolled his eyes and Pidge giggled. They'd fallen into a comfortable silence and Pidge had grabbed her laptop again. She went back to working but something felt unfinished.

She bit her lip then said, "Lance you do know that you're one of my best friends." 

There wasn't a response and Pidge wondered if Lance had heard her but then she's being engulfed in a hug. "You're one of my best friends too," Lance cooed. 

"I take it back!" Pidge shouted as Lance continued to squeeze her while laughing loudly.

"No take backs Pidge. I'm one of your best friends you admitted it!" 

Pidge stopped trying to resist the hug because Lance was right. Of course he was one of her best friends. Pidge had lost a lot but in the endeavour to get it back she had gained a lot too. Lance's friendship was one of them, he'd been there for her throughout the time in the Garrison and he continued to be there for her. Even though Pidge didn't show it a lot she was grateful so this time she hugged Lance back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Coran’s chapter next!!


	4. lance & coran

"I never thanked you Lance," Coran said. They were in the bridge as Coran piloted the castle to their next destination. Lance was laying down on the floor next to him, his jacket bunched up underneath his head. 

"For what?" 

"Back when the castle was under attack and that bomb disguised as Rover blew up you shielded me," Coran reminded, "I could've died—I would've died but you put yourself in front of me. You saved my life." Coran looked down to Lance who was still watching the ceiling.

"Oh," Lance blinked, "any of the others would've done the same. You don't have to thank me." 

"Maybe but you were the one that was there and you were the one that did it. Not one of the others. You were selfless and you do what you think is right even if it puts yourself in danger, those are good qualities to have," Coran remarked. "You have my thanks even if you don't want it."

Lance didn't respond. Coran could tell there was inner turmoil inside of him but he wasn't sure if it was his place to comment on it. He decided he'd just have to get Lance to talk to him. 

"How about we play a game?" Coran suggested. 

Lance seemed to perk up at that because he sat up. "I like games but what kind of game are we talking about?" 

"I tell you something about myself and then you tell me something about yourself. It can be about anything," Coran explained. 

"Alright," Lance agreed, "you go first." 

Coran turned back to look at his controls. They were on their way to a diplomatic mission at a nearby planet. Allura was hoping to recruit more allies. "I've had this moustache for all my life," he said.

"No way, even when you were a baby?" Lance asked. 

"Even when I was a baby," Coran replied. He absentmindedly twiddled with the end of his moustache, it was a staple look. 

"That's amazing," Lance grinned. He paused then added, "I like to swim. I used to swim a lot back on Earth." 

"Have you tried the pool in the castle?" 

Lance snorted, "Yeah it's not something I want to remember." 

Coran sent him a puzzled look. It prompted Lance to tell Coran the story of how he and Keith had gotten stuck in the elevator. Coran couldn't help but chuckle at the boy's teamwork. 

"So humans can't use upside down pools?" Coran asked, genuinely curious. He'd been learning a lot about humans and Earth from Lance.

"No of course we can't!" Lance said. "How do Alteans do it anyways. Last time I checked you guys can't walk on walls." 

Coran began explaining and then they continued their game. There was a lot Coran didn't know about Lance despite the time they spent together. Lance hung out a lot with the other paladins but Coran knew that any time Lance felt down he'd come to him. Coran isn't sure why but he was glad he could provide Lance comfort in some way. He cared about the boy. Lance told him about all the things he loved on Earth, green grass and white snow. About how the leaves could change colour and how the moon pulled the tides of the ocean. Coran had a hard time picturing it all. 

"It's your turn," Lance said after he finished telling a story about how his niece had made him dress up in a ball gown for her birthday. 

Coran thought for a moment on what to say until he finally decided. "I had a husband back on Altea. His name was Hector," Coran smiled to himself. He and Hector had met at boot camp, they'd both been enlisted in the Altean space squad aeronautics sub-tech nano-weaponry unit. They'd both been young and had immediately became friends. As they grew up it had become more and more.

"What was he like?" Lance asked. 

"He was very smart and very kind," Coran said. "He cared for everyone. When the war was happening on Altea he was the one helping with the injured. He was one of the bravest people I knew. He was bright." 

"Did you guys have kids?" 

"No," Coran answered. They had talked about it a couple times but it had never happened. "We were both very busy. We wouldn't have had the time for a child. We did have enough time for each other though. He was my best friend, he always knew what I needed." Coran sighed, a heavy sinking feeling in his chest because Hector was gone. It hurt. 

"I'm sorry," Lance said. 

"No need to apologize," Coran waved him off. "He would've liked you if he'd met you. I think you would've liked him too." Coran looked back down to smile at Lance. "Your turn." 

Lance didn't reply, he looked away out through the glass panes and into the stars. Coran didn't push him to say anything and returned to the controls instead. 

"I don't know what I'm doing," Lance said, finally. 

"You're playing a game with me, that's what you're doing," Coran reminded. 

"No I mean—in general," Lance explained. "It's like I'm a Paladin of Voltron, I'm protecting the universe. I know that but I still don't...I don't know. It's like everyone is contributing and I'm not. I'm not doing enough." 

Coran looked down at him. He'd always felt sympathetic towards Lance. There was a certain degree of sadness when he spoke about Earth and all the things he loved. Coran could understand what it was like to miss your home. Now looking at Lance, he seemed so small. His fingers twisted tightly together and his eyes watching the stars they passed as if he'd known them all in a past life. He was just a boy, a kid, who'd been thrown into something so huge.

"I don't think any of us really know what we're doing," Coran admitted. "We're all just trying our best under these circumstances. Maybe you don't see it Lance but you are contributing. You are important to this team as much as anyone else. Voltron needs you. The universe needs you." 

"You think?" 

"I know," Coran assured. "The blue lion saw something in you Lance. You're outgoing and selfless, you can adapt easily and you're intelligent. You may not realize it but we do and the citizens of this universe do because they're counting on you."

"Thanks Coran," Lance said. His voice sounded distant. Although Coran could see him right there beside him it almost felt like Lance was galaxies away. Coran wondered where he was—back on Earth perhaps. Coran knew what he had said wasn't enough to erase all of Lance's insecurities but it was a start. 

"Tell me more about Hector and what Altea used to be like," Lance breathed out so Coran did.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the next chapter is shiro which i half wrote in 2017 and now am finally going to finish lol hennyways after that the rest of the chapters will follow the current place we are in the timeline more or less


End file.
